I don't know about you - but I am ready for hearing/reading different stories.Stories that are uplifting, ones that celebrate the good stuff that is happening in our communities and our world, ones that champion the kind things people do every day in many ways. Without turning into Pollyanna – imagine even for a moment how differently we could feel if we were surrounded by these stories most of the time - imagine the different world we could create if we suddenly witnessed the good stuff happening instead of focussing on the awful.

I have been contemplating this amongst the waves of despicable things we humans do to each other and it made me want to notice the kind stuff, the warm stuff even if to just to resuscitate hope in the belief in good that we inherently are. I noticed the warm bubbly woman in the coffee shop enquire about a customer’s day – I noticed her, with kind smiling eyes, ask a regular if he wanted his usual order, and if he had a sec it would be ready soon. I saw the beautiful smile of a stranger to another, I saw the small child extend his hand to his new small friend in encouragement, I saw the eyes of the woman in the shop light up and she said 'welcome back' – when I had only been in her place once before. I saw the calm reassurance and compassion of the receptionist at the doctor’s surgery when a brand new patient walked in, vulnerable and concerned for her child. I saw the patience of the local in his car, waiting for a tourist, in theirs, deciding where they were going next. And I saw the rubbish truck man, help and elderly person with their wheelie bin, in the frost.

Maybe mundane, but these things didn’t cost anything, they were a choice on how to be. They are everyday things we can witness and be grateful for, to swell the belief that we can be good, we can be kind. And hell - maybe these are things we can be more conscious of doing more of the time. It made me smile all over to see these kind acts –will it bring change? I believe it does. And imagine if a few more of us did it, it could be so infectious it might change the world….